First aircraft of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) relief effort arrives in line with directives from King Salman bin Abdulaziz and follow-up of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Initial shipment to be followed by planes carrying additional aid according to a relief schedule and plan, in coordination with the High Relief Committee

KSRelief said it also provided urgent food aidin the city of Hof in the remote province of Al-Mahra in southeast Yemen for 1,800 people affected by Mekunu

RIYADH, May 28, 2018 – The first aircraft of a Saudi relief airlift provided through King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) arrived in Socotra on Sunday, laden with emergency relief supplies for the people of the Yemeni island that was devastated by Cyclone Mekunu.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, Advisor to the Royal Court and Supervisor General of KSRelief, said in a statement that KSRelief has dispatched to Socotra the first airlift aircraft carrying essential food and shelter items, as well as a specialized team from the centre to supervise the distribution of aid on the island.

“The aid was sent on the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the follow-up of HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to meet the needs of the brothers in Yemen due to Cyclone Mekunu,” Dr Rabeeah added.

He said that KSRelief initiated the airlift after the United Nations World Meteorological Organization warned that the island lay in the path of Cyclone Mekunu.

“KSRelief rushed to help areas affected by the cyclone by preparing and providing tonnes of emergency humanitarian aid including food supplies, medicines, blankets, and clothes, to be distributed quickly to the island’s inhabitants, who are in dire need of aid, and to mitigate the impact of the cyclone,” he said.

Dr. Rabeeah thanked the King and the Crown Prince for the generous humanitarian gesture, indicating that the relief plane will be followed by other planes in line with a relief schedule and plan in coordination with the High Relief Committee.

In a separate statement, KSRelief said that it also provided on Sunday urgent food aid to the city of Hof in the remote Al-Mahra Governorate in southeast Yemen, for the benefit of 1,800 people affected by the Cyclone Mekunu.

“This intervention comes in an emergency and swift mode to alleviate the suffering of the people of the city who were affected by the cyclone and suffer greatly from a lack of these supplies,” KSRelief said.